Batman's origin is the gift that keeps on giving for DC more than 80 years after his first two-page origin story was published in 1939's Detective Comics #33.
What was once a simple explanation of Bruce Wayne dedicating himself to fighting crime after the murder of his parents, has been expanded by volumes over the decades in print, on television, and in film, with particular focus on a period of time in which a young Bruce Wayne left Gotham City to seek training specialized training all around the world.
The latest addition to that expanded part of the backstory is Ghost-Maker, a rival would-be crimefighter who was a contemporary of Bruce in Gotham.
Despite Batman rising to prominence as a member of the Justice League and saving the Earth, the universe, and the multiverse on numerous occasions, Ghost-Maker still sees himself as a superior crimefighter to Batman and in the past or present never seems to tire of telling Bruce so.
This week's Batman #105 by James Tynion IV, Carlo Pagulayan, Danny Miki, Alvaro Martinez, and Christian Duce, is the last chapter of the new rival/anti-hero/villain's introductory story and the last issue of Batman before the series takes a two-month hiatus to give way to the Next Batman as part of DC Future State.
"Batman battles Ghost-Maker in the no-holds-barred, bloody conclusion of this epic tale…winner takes Gotham City! And the outcome is not what you’re expecting!" reads DC's official description. "The future of Gotham City and the fate of Clownhunter hang in the balance!"
In the following preview pages, Ghost-Maker does a lot of talking about what Bruce is doing wrong and what's he's doing right in a scene set years ago in Argentina before Bruce began his career as Batman.
And speaking of Batman’s origins, check out Newsarama’s countdown of the best Batman stories of all time.
